A reflection on the Post Office scandal, ethical support, and the architecture of accountability
📍 The Scandal That Should Have Sparked Systemic Reform
Between 1999 and 2015, the UK Post Office prosecuted over 700 subpostmasters for theft, fraud, and false accounting. The evidence? Data from Horizon, an accounting system developed by Fujitsu.
But Horizon was flawed—riddled with bugs and defects that created illusory shortfalls. Subpostmasters were forced to repay money they never took. Some were imprisoned. Others lost homes, reputations, and even their lives.It’s now recognized as one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in British history. Yet what disturbs me most isn’t just the faulty software—it’s the absence of meaningful support.
No one asked:Is the system broken?Are users being supported properly?Are fixes compounding the problem?
🧭 Support Wasn’t Just Missing—It Was Complicit
Subpostmasters raised concerns. They were met with scripted phone support, remote interventions, and data fixes that often made things worse. But who was actually providing that support?Fujitsu, the software vendor, not only developed Horizon but actively supported the Post Office in its prosecutions. Their staff defended the software’s integrity—even as internal documents revealed known bugs dating back to 1999. The Post Office, lacking internal fluency, deferred to Fujitsu. And in doing so, outsourced accountability
🔌 Support Is Missing from This Picture
Support should be the bridge between business operations and technical systems. Not just a helpdesk, but a role that understands both sides of the problem. It asks:
• Is this a user error?
• A configuration issue?
• Or a deeper flaw in the system?
Instead, support became a mechanism of control. Subpostmasters were told what to do—not asked what they were experiencing. Fixes were issued without context. Escalations looped back to the same vendor whose software was under scrutiny.
💸 Support: The Undervalued Bridge
In many organizations, support is seen as an expense. But when done right, it’s a strategic asset:
• It sees friction points sales never will.
• It hears the emotional toll of broken systems.
• It becomes the voice of the customer—raw, immediate, and instructive.
Support builds trust. It strengthens products. It deepens relationships. And it does more to retain customers than any sales pitch ever could.
🧠 Ethical Support: The Last Honest Stop
There are levels to support:
• Level 1: “Have you tried turning it off and on again?”
• Level 2: Troubleshooters with technical fluency.
• Level 3: Interpreters—the last stop before development.
Each step adds value;
This wasn’t just technical support—it was collaborative sensemaking.
• Resellers gathered logs and data.
• System admins flagged anomalies.
• Then it landed with us—to reproduce, investigate, and understand.
Support didn’t just close loops—we opened pathways
Some insights resolved harm. Others became enhancements.
In a small team, every story had the potential to shape the system.
We asked:
Have I seen this before?
We searched structured records of past issues.
We tested in the latest version.We didn’t just fix—we learned.
🌌 Past Issues Are Not Clutter—They’re Constellations
Every unresolved issue is a star waiting to be named.When tracked with care, they reveal patterns.
They expose design flaws.
They protect users from being gaslit by their own experience.
In Horizon, those stars were ignored.
Patterns denied.
And the people closest to the problem were treated as unreliable narrators instead of essential witnesses.
🧩 Is This Support—or Something Else Entirely?
Call it support or analysis.Call it problem management.Call it experience strategy or product specialist.
Just don’t underestimate it.
Because this role holds the business to its promises and the developers to their purpose.It lifts the standard for everyone.
📈 How Do You Measure the Value of a Bridge
You don’t measure it in ticket volume.You measure it in transformation:
• Customers become loyal—not just satisfied.
• Developers code with empathy.
• Testers become more robust.
• Products become trusted.
This isn’t just support.It’s accountability architecture.
It holds the business to its promises and the developers to their purpose.It lifts the standard for everyone.
Priceless
In the Post Office Scandal, ethical support wasn't just missing - it was life-saving and it never arrived.
Post Office Scandal lack of support can now be measured:
Not just reputations
Not just careers
Not just material goods
LIVES
So when the system is broken and the silence is worse,
someone has to listen.
Someone has to translate.
Someone has to care.
That’s the bridge
Not just valueable;
Priceless
Bridging the digital gap…
